How to use the Google Play Music to YouTube Music transfer tool [Video]

Damien Wilde | Jun 8 2020 - 10:30 am PT

Google Play Music transfer to YouTube Music

Google Play Music is being put out to pasture later this year, which means that you might want to transfer your library over to YouTube Music to keep all of your audio content.

The sad fact is that if you don’t do this, you will lose access to all of your music library, recommendations, purchased music, and personal uploads when Google Play Music eventually does get shut down.

As a longtime Google Play Music user, subscriber, and fan, it’s with a heavy heart that I have now switched full time over to YouTube Music. It hasn’t been the easiest transition, but I can deal with some hiccups because I have such a large library of music that I just don’t want to lose.

While it’s a little frustrating, I’m happy I can now access on-the-go without worrying about losing my near decade-old library. Plus with many tracks simply not available on any platform, the transfer has kind of forced my hand a little — and I’m sure many of yours out there, too.

The transfer tool for those migrating from Google Play Music to YouTube Music is now steadily becoming available around the globe and will expand to more users soon. It really is a great tool for ensuring that all of your music and playlists move across intact.

How to initiate a library transfer from Google Play Music to YouTube Music on desktop/browser

On desktop, tablet or in your web browser, head to https://music.youtube.com/transfer
Click/tap “transfer,” and you should start seeing your music and audio library transfer from Google Play to YouTube Music.

How to initiate a library transfer from Google Play Music to YouTube Music on mobile

On your Android or iOS smartphone launch the YouTube Music app
You may see a pop-up prompt upon launch asking if you want to transfer from Google Play Music. This option might not be available to everyone.
For most people though, you will want to head to Settings > Transfer from Google Play Music.
Once the process starts, you will now see a notification informing you of the transfer progress. This will take longer depending on just how large your library is. In some cases, this can range from a few minutes to a few days depending on the size of your library.
When the transfer is complete you’ll receive a notification on your device. Now you can enjoy all of your playlists, albums, tracks, and more.

_{Note: The Google Play Music transfer tool is rolling out steadily, so keep checking back in to see if you have the option within YouTube Music.}

Things to note

You might not be willing to swap over to YouTube Music just yet. So, if you are still intent on using Google Play Music until the bitter end, any changes you make to playlists, tracks, or uploads will then need to be transferred over again. We’re still not sure when Google Play Music will officially shut down, so we still think it would be wise to transfer data across at regular intervals if you insist on staying put.

That does give you a little more breathing room before having to take the plunge and swap over completely. However, you may be looking elsewhere to switch from Google Play Music. If so, we have collated a list of 7 of the best Google Play Music alternatives if you can’t stomach transferring.